Multiple strand selvage



July 9, 1940. BUCHANAN 2,207,609

MULT IPLE S 'IRAND SELVAGE Filed Feb. 4, 1959 :12 INVENTOR WITNESSES W////0/7/ E Buchanan v AT 'TO ENE? Patented July 9, 1940 v 2,207,609 MULTIPLE STRAND SELVAGE William E. Buchanan, Appleton, Wis., assignor to Appleton Wire Works, Inc., Appleton, Wi's., a corporation of Wisconsin Application February 4, 1939, Serial No. 254,571

3 Claims.

, countered and attributed to various causes is the cracking of the edges or selvages of the belt, such failure rendering it necessary to discard the belt even though the body portion of the belt may be in good condition.

It is an object of the present invention to pro 1 vide an improved Fourdrinier wire belt which'is of strong and durable construction, which will minimize the danger of edge-cracking, and which will not interfere with usual weaving practice nor materially increase the cost of manufacture. I

The invention further consists in the several features hereinafter described and claimed."

In the accompanying drawing, illustrating certain embodiments of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a portion of 'a Fourdrinier wire belt constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan View of an edge portion of the belt;

Fig. 3 is a sectional viewtaken generally along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is'aview similar to Fig. 3 but showing a modified form of fabric. I

The Fourdrinier wire fabric illustrated in the drawing comprises warp wires l0 and II interwoven with weft wires l2. The warp wires l0 and the weft wires form the main body portion l3 of the fabric, and the warp wires II and the weft wires form opposite selvages Hi, there being a plurality or band of the warp wires l I at each side of the fabric. The warp wires ID are here shown to be of the usual solid round cross-section, although other cross-sectional shapes may be used. Thewarp wires l l' have approximately the same count as the warp wires l0, usually on the order of per inch. The wire fabric will vary in fineness according to the type of paper to be produced. Each warp wire II comprises a plurality of strands or filaments l I, preferably more than two and twisted together, although in some instances they may be braided together. The stranded warp wires II are considerably more flexible than the warp wires ID. The weft wires l2 .are here indicated tobe of round hollow cross-section, but other cross-sectional shapes may be used. The fabric preferably has a twill Weave, but plain or other types of weaves may be provided, as is well understood in this art.

' The solid warp wires l0 and the stranded Warp wires I l are woven'into the fabric in the same manner, no change in loom construction or operation being necessary. Itis possible, however,

to use different weaves for the mainlbody portion' l3 and the selvages L The weftwires l2 may be crimped at their intersections with the warp wires l0 and H, as seen in Fig. 3, or in some instances the end portions of the weft wires may have little or no crimp where they intersect the warp wires H, as indicated in Fig. 4. The cable-forming warp wires .ll may become more or less flattened at their intersections with the weft wires, as seen in'Fig. 4. I

The side bands or selvages I4 of the wire fabric belt. are considerably more flexible than the main body portion I3 of the belt, and each selvage has a Widthwhich is preferably relatively large compared with the thickness of the fabric. vThe 20 selvage width is selected in accordance with various factors, such as the speed of the belt and severity of operating conditions. By way of example, a selvage width of one inch or more is provided in some cases, while in other instances 25 a smaller width may be sufiicient.

When the belt is in use on a Fourdrinier machine, the danger of edge-cracking is practically eliminated because of the flexibility and strength of the selvages, and the useful life of the belt will plurality of the warp wires at each longitudinal edge of the fabric being arranged in a mar- .ginal band and each being formed of a plurality of strands, said bands each having a width which is relatively large compared with the thickness of the fabric to provide flexible selvages for the fabric, said selvages being more flexible than the intervening main body portion of the fabric.

2.'A wire fabric for paper-making machines, comprising interwoven warp and weft wires, a plurality of the warp wires at each longitudinal edge of the fabric being arranged in a selvageforming band and each being formed of a plurality of strands, and substantially all the warp 55 formed of a plurality of strands, the width of each of said bands being relatively large compared with the thickness of the fabric, and substantially all the warp and weft wires in the main body portion of the fabric between said bands being formed of single strands.

WILLIAM E. BUCHANAN. 

